bama alum
Member
Pretty pissed off Mama Bear! Quite an...allegation here!
iftheruthfits44a.blogspot.com
To the Alabama Recruits & Parents,
First of all, I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS on your efforts and hard work that earned you the attention and interest of the University of Alabama, a most elite football program. You are no doubt by now enjoying the gorgeous facilities and campus of a university of great renown and fame for reasons too many to name.
Without question, you and your families have endured and sacrificed much throughout this journey. Having grown wiser and stronger for being on this journey, I'd like to share with you what you can expect from this program as a player and as a parent or loved one. You should expect that this school will roll out the red carpet for you, but you will need to take extreme care that this carpet is not leading you directly into a ditch. And if it does, as it has for so many others, have a solid action plan in place for how to GET OUT!
Just 6 years ago, I and my son, Joshua Frazier, walked onto that campus to hospitality and respect...the likes of which I have ever witnessed before or since. You should also expect your presence to command attention and admiration anywhere you go in the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend and beyond if this turns out to be your (or your sonās) home for the next several years.
You should also expect that since youāll be attending on a full athletic scholarship, that you will have to work twice as hard as the typical student to get the exact same degree, should that be your goal. If your quest to reach the NFL is through Alabama, please know, you will endure great strife and struggle to get there, if you should make it there at all.
Parents, for you, other than cutting the rug doing the cupid shuffle and enjoying a few delicious, mouth-watering meals at Nick Sabanās elegant home, hereās what you can expect for your son. He will be immersed into the typical football player culture full of all the typical attractions. But once your son is on campus as a student-athlete, he will enter what I have come to reference as the āsunken place.ā
Your son is there to play football and MAKE MONEY for that university and for that program! Do not make the of assumption he is there to be educated, but you can be certain he will surely be indoctrinated into a culture of secrecy and isolation. This football program, like far too many others, has what I have come to call a win-at-all-costs culture, so if you do decide to attend this school, just know, that cost can be anything up to and including your sonās very life. That's just a risk that goes along with playing the sport regardless of where it's played.
As far as this program is concerned, I believe it takes way too many risks with the bodies and minds of their players. Consider Nick Saban's handling of the very seriously injured Tua Tagovailoa during this past season. Coach Saban demonstrated lack of discretion and judgment by putting this young man in the game after he limped off the field against LSU just one week earlier. Although Tua clearly lacked the ability and mobility to avoid defenders effectively, he was put in the very next game which ended with him being carted off the field with a dislocated hip. Rather than give him the time needed to heal and prepare for the approaching NFL combine, which is/was his reported plan, his season has ended with a devastating injury and an uncertain future in football.
Just read for yourself what came out of Nick Saban's own mouth as reported by Erik Hall of USA Today Network:
I don't know about any of you, but as the mother of an elite recruit, if I had heard any coach put together those words, in that order, in ANY context, I would have strongly urged my son to RUN, DON'T WALK, as far and fast as he could in the other direction from that program.
Furthermore, it is of the utmost importance that you, as players and parents, maintain all possible lines of communication while involved with this program. If those lines are cut, your son will be all the more vulnerable to the very deceptive tactics used by Nick Saban and his coaches.
Joshua Frazier fell prey to one of those very tactics during his Sophomore year when he was approached by his position coach one day after practice and coerced into taking Vyvanse, a very dangerous, Schedule 2 narcotic (amphetamine) which is a performance enhancing drug accepted and allowed by the NCAA. This drug is highly addictive and has dangerous side effects which can include SUDDEN STOPPAGE OF THE HEART, PREMATURE AGING OF THE HEART, and even DEATH if abused or taken for extended periods of time.
At no time did any medical professional or staff member in this program notify me that my son suffered from any medical conditions that required the use of such a drug nor was Joshua ever encouraged to discuss anything with me before taking it. To put it simply, when I sent my son to the University of Alabama, he was healthy and drug-free. He graduated in just 3 Ā½ years with a degree in Communications and a wicked addiction to Vyvanse.
Just in case you're wondering, Joshua is now 11 months free of this horrible addiction and in the process of returning to some degree of normalcy following this incredibly painful journey. Although his passion for the game and respect for the fans will never end, he departed from football after his rookie year.
After being drafted in the 7th round of the 2018 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Joshua was waived from the 93 man roster. During the same season, made his way onto the Detroit Lions practice squad just prior to the end of a dismal season and was immediately picked up by the Birmingham Iron (AAF). He suffered a season ending injury and has decided to never return to the game as a player. Despite receiving 3 additional opportunities from 3 more NFL franchises, he refused to even return his agent's calls. After serious contemplation of the cost vs. the reward, for him, the cost was just too high!
Iāve now told you what you can expect. Now, I will end by asking you a question. What would you expect to get when you mix some of the worldās most finely tuned and trained athletes with the illicit and rampant use of a very powerful P.E.D. like Vyvanse? I donāt know what your answer sounds like, but for Joshua Frazier and my family, it sounds like deception, betrayal, and an addiction that has changed his life forever. For Nick Saban, the answer probably sounds something like, āCHA-CHING!" MONEY IN THE BANK as a result of multiple back-to-back championship seasons.
Finally, above all else, please remember this: Football is NOT A GAME! Itās a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS! Our SONS are the game...or maybe "PREY" is a better word! Just know that right now, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE! While I cannot tell you what to do, based on my own experiences, I can tell you what to expect, and the decision is yours alone to make. Just please do your due diligence in asking questions, demanding answers, and holding the coaches accountable for their actions while coaching your son towards his future endeavors in football wherever he should decide to attend school. Hopefully, somewhere in those choices you will strongly consider taking your talents to an
I pray that as you make this impactful, life-changing decision, may The Most High Yah increase you abundantly in wisdom and understanding. I pray he orders your steps in a plain path and on a rock solid foundation. Let no wicked plan or device succeed against you. And may he mightily protect you from all hurt, harm, and danger in whatever form that may appear.
Now, go do what so many of those who came before us have done!
Go...Be...GREAT!
Sincerely,
Donna Frazier,
a/k/a Ruqiyah Hadassah
An Open Letter to Alabama Recruits & Parents
To the Alabama Recruits & Parents, First of all, I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS on your efforts and hard work that earned you t...
iftheruthfits44a.blogspot.com
To the Alabama Recruits & Parents,
First of all, I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS on your efforts and hard work that earned you the attention and interest of the University of Alabama, a most elite football program. You are no doubt by now enjoying the gorgeous facilities and campus of a university of great renown and fame for reasons too many to name.
Without question, you and your families have endured and sacrificed much throughout this journey. Having grown wiser and stronger for being on this journey, I'd like to share with you what you can expect from this program as a player and as a parent or loved one. You should expect that this school will roll out the red carpet for you, but you will need to take extreme care that this carpet is not leading you directly into a ditch. And if it does, as it has for so many others, have a solid action plan in place for how to GET OUT!
Just 6 years ago, I and my son, Joshua Frazier, walked onto that campus to hospitality and respect...the likes of which I have ever witnessed before or since. You should also expect your presence to command attention and admiration anywhere you go in the city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama this weekend and beyond if this turns out to be your (or your sonās) home for the next several years.
You should also expect that since youāll be attending on a full athletic scholarship, that you will have to work twice as hard as the typical student to get the exact same degree, should that be your goal. If your quest to reach the NFL is through Alabama, please know, you will endure great strife and struggle to get there, if you should make it there at all.
Parents, for you, other than cutting the rug doing the cupid shuffle and enjoying a few delicious, mouth-watering meals at Nick Sabanās elegant home, hereās what you can expect for your son. He will be immersed into the typical football player culture full of all the typical attractions. But once your son is on campus as a student-athlete, he will enter what I have come to reference as the āsunken place.ā
Your son is there to play football and MAKE MONEY for that university and for that program! Do not make the of assumption he is there to be educated, but you can be certain he will surely be indoctrinated into a culture of secrecy and isolation. This football program, like far too many others, has what I have come to call a win-at-all-costs culture, so if you do decide to attend this school, just know, that cost can be anything up to and including your sonās very life. That's just a risk that goes along with playing the sport regardless of where it's played.
As far as this program is concerned, I believe it takes way too many risks with the bodies and minds of their players. Consider Nick Saban's handling of the very seriously injured Tua Tagovailoa during this past season. Coach Saban demonstrated lack of discretion and judgment by putting this young man in the game after he limped off the field against LSU just one week earlier. Although Tua clearly lacked the ability and mobility to avoid defenders effectively, he was put in the very next game which ended with him being carted off the field with a dislocated hip. Rather than give him the time needed to heal and prepare for the approaching NFL combine, which is/was his reported plan, his season has ended with a devastating injury and an uncertain future in football.
Just read for yourself what came out of Nick Saban's own mouth as reported by Erik Hall of USA Today Network:
I don't know about any of you, but as the mother of an elite recruit, if I had heard any coach put together those words, in that order, in ANY context, I would have strongly urged my son to RUN, DON'T WALK, as far and fast as he could in the other direction from that program.
Furthermore, it is of the utmost importance that you, as players and parents, maintain all possible lines of communication while involved with this program. If those lines are cut, your son will be all the more vulnerable to the very deceptive tactics used by Nick Saban and his coaches.
Joshua Frazier fell prey to one of those very tactics during his Sophomore year when he was approached by his position coach one day after practice and coerced into taking Vyvanse, a very dangerous, Schedule 2 narcotic (amphetamine) which is a performance enhancing drug accepted and allowed by the NCAA. This drug is highly addictive and has dangerous side effects which can include SUDDEN STOPPAGE OF THE HEART, PREMATURE AGING OF THE HEART, and even DEATH if abused or taken for extended periods of time.
At no time did any medical professional or staff member in this program notify me that my son suffered from any medical conditions that required the use of such a drug nor was Joshua ever encouraged to discuss anything with me before taking it. To put it simply, when I sent my son to the University of Alabama, he was healthy and drug-free. He graduated in just 3 Ā½ years with a degree in Communications and a wicked addiction to Vyvanse.
Just in case you're wondering, Joshua is now 11 months free of this horrible addiction and in the process of returning to some degree of normalcy following this incredibly painful journey. Although his passion for the game and respect for the fans will never end, he departed from football after his rookie year.
After being drafted in the 7th round of the 2018 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Joshua was waived from the 93 man roster. During the same season, made his way onto the Detroit Lions practice squad just prior to the end of a dismal season and was immediately picked up by the Birmingham Iron (AAF). He suffered a season ending injury and has decided to never return to the game as a player. Despite receiving 3 additional opportunities from 3 more NFL franchises, he refused to even return his agent's calls. After serious contemplation of the cost vs. the reward, for him, the cost was just too high!
Iāve now told you what you can expect. Now, I will end by asking you a question. What would you expect to get when you mix some of the worldās most finely tuned and trained athletes with the illicit and rampant use of a very powerful P.E.D. like Vyvanse? I donāt know what your answer sounds like, but for Joshua Frazier and my family, it sounds like deception, betrayal, and an addiction that has changed his life forever. For Nick Saban, the answer probably sounds something like, āCHA-CHING!" MONEY IN THE BANK as a result of multiple back-to-back championship seasons.
Finally, above all else, please remember this: Football is NOT A GAME! Itās a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR BUSINESS! Our SONS are the game...or maybe "PREY" is a better word! Just know that right now, YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE! While I cannot tell you what to do, based on my own experiences, I can tell you what to expect, and the decision is yours alone to make. Just please do your due diligence in asking questions, demanding answers, and holding the coaches accountable for their actions while coaching your son towards his future endeavors in football wherever he should decide to attend school. Hopefully, somewhere in those choices you will strongly consider taking your talents to an
HBCU!!!
If I knew then what I know now, I would have strongly emphasized to my son the need to consider either Prairie View A&M or Texas Southern University which are two schools my family shares a long and rich history of receiving quality education from caring and knowledgeable instructors and coaches who, in my humble opinion, are much more likely to cultivate, appreciate, and understand the REAL VALUE of what it means to be Young, Gifted, and Black!I pray that as you make this impactful, life-changing decision, may The Most High Yah increase you abundantly in wisdom and understanding. I pray he orders your steps in a plain path and on a rock solid foundation. Let no wicked plan or device succeed against you. And may he mightily protect you from all hurt, harm, and danger in whatever form that may appear.
Now, go do what so many of those who came before us have done!
Go...Be...GREAT!
Sincerely,
Donna Frazier,
a/k/a Ruqiyah Hadassah
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